The Best VPNs to Stay Safe from Hackers

When you connect to the internet, your data goes over an unsecured network. It can easily be monitored, recorded, altered, or stolen as it travels from your computer to web servers.

When there are no strong preventive measures in place, hackers can grab your data. For example, in May and July this year, hackers store millions of customer records from Equifax. This is not a rare incident.

Hacking attacks are frequent, and organisations and individuals should take all necessary measures to protect their data.

Why you need a VPN to stay secure from hackers

You want a safe online experienceThere are news stories of hacking incidents almost every day. You want to be sure that what you send over the internet cannot be intercepted. The best way to do that is to encrypt your data with a VPN. While VPNs can still be hacked, they are much safer than if you didn’t use one.

You want to protect your sensitive informationYou might have sensitive details online such as bank accounts, business emails, or retirement portfolios that need to be protected. Even your health information can be stolen by hackers to create fake insurance accounts. You want to keep all of that safe.When you use a VPN, any information that you send online will be protected from prying eyes and cannot be intercepted or altered. If you use online cloud storage, it becomes all the more important to use a VPN to safeguard your data.

You don’t want to lose your informationWhen a hacker gets their hands on your information, they can delete your files, change your passwords, or lock up your computer. They can install all types of malware on your system including spyware and ransomware.A spyware will continuously steal your data and send it to them while a ransomware will lock up your computer, leaving you unable to access your own files, including your personal photos, videos, or any other sensitive information. To make sure you don’t lose any important data from your device or online storage, you should follow best practices for digital safety.

These VPNs are the best when it comes to avoiding hackers:

All the VPNs mentioned here support 256-bit encryption and hide your IP address so that a hacker cannot sniff your data packets.

Why you should use a VPN

You already have antivirus on your system and are aware of phishing scams. Having a VPN will increase your security by several notches. With your IP hidden, you can stay anonymous while browsing the internet.

This is especially useful when you’re using a public hotspot. A free network could be set up by a hacker who wants to steal your data. Whatever information you send on a public Wi-Fi connection can be stolen by it owners. However, if you use a VPN over a public hotspot, all the data you send through it will be encrypted and not easy to crack.

While your personal data is important, safety from hacking becomes essential when you have sensitive business information on your devices. With increasing hardware costs, many offices have a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy that allows employees to access the company files on their own personal devices.

To make sure that their connections are safe and no hackers can access important company information, most employers want their staff to use VPNs on their devices. If you run a company or work in one where BYOD is applicable, it makes sense to use a VPN.

Ariel Hochstadt, Formerly Small and Medium Businesses Manager for Google, and today web entrepreneur. Ariel is a successful international speaker and author of 3 published books on computers and internet. He is the co-founder of vpnMentor and an advocate of online privacy.